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Compact microstrip band stop filter using SRR and CSSR: Design, simulation
and results

Conference Paper · May 2010

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Final author version. EuCAP 2010, Barcelona, Spain

Compact Microstrip Band Stop Filter Using SRR and

CSSR: Design, Simulation and Results
Mustafa K. Taher Al-Nuaimi#1 and William G. Whittow*2
#1
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering − University of Technology, Baghdad, IRAQ
mustafa.engineer@yahoo.com
*2
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering − Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
w.g.whittow@lboro.ac.uk

Abstract— Size miniaturization of microwave filters is highly magnetic field component. This negative permeability can be
desirable in the today’s rapid changing communications world. used with the negative electric permeability of another
Split ring resonators (SRRs) have attracted much interest in structure to produce negative refractive index materials [7-10].
recent years as key constituent particles for the design of
effective media with negative magnetic permeability (µeff < 0) or
left-handed materials (LHM). This paper demonstrates the
potential of the sub-wavelength (i.e. electrically very small) split
ring resonators and complementary split ring resonators
(CSRRs) inclusions to build compact microstrip band stop filters
to reject the unwanted spurious bands in microwave regime. It
is simple and compatible with MMIC and PCB technology.
Moreover, the magnetic coupling between the SRRs and the
microstrip line is also investigated. Numerical calculations of the
scattering parameters (S-parameters) are performed using the
Method of Moments (MoM)-based electromagnetic solver of
Ansoft DesignerTM software.
(a) (b)
I. INTRODUCTION
Rapid development of wireless communications present
extraordinary demand for compact bandstop filters [1]. There
exist band stop filters with half wavelength and quarter
wavelength resonators. The size of those filters is large at the
lower end of microwave frequencies [2]. Many microstrip
filter designs have been proposed for size miniaturization and
performance enhancement in the past few decades but there
are still some areas for improvements.
Recently split ring resonators (SRRs) proposed by Pendry
et al. [3] attracted much attention as a canonical metamaterial (c) (d)
structure that gives rise to an effective magnetic response
Fig. 1 (a) circular and (b) square split ring resonator, (c) circular and (d)
without the need for magnetic materials. SRRs have been square complementary split ring resonator.
successfully applied to the fabrication of LHM (some times
called Double Negative Materials or Negative Refractive On the other hand, the complementary split-ring resonator
Index Materials) [4-6]. SRRs are a pair of concentric annular (CSRR) structure is achieved by etching SRR in the ground
rings with splits in them at opposite ends. The rings are made plane. Structures complementary to double split rings were
of nonmagnetic metal like copper and have a small gap designed and produced by applying the Babinet principle to
between them as shown in Fig. 1. In an SRR the capacitance the split rings [11]. In this way structures with apertures in
between the two rings balances its inductance. A time-varying metal surface are obtained, as shown in Fig. 1. These
magnetic field (H) applied perpendicular to the rings surface complementary split rings (CSRR) create negative
induces currents which, in dependence on the resonant permittivity Re (εeff) < 0 instead of Re (μeff) < 0 near the
properties of the structure, produce a magnetic field that may resonance frequency [12, 13].
either oppose or enhance the incident field. At frequencies This paper takes advantage of the small electrical size of
below the resonant frequency of the SRR, the real part of the SRRs at resonance (typically one tenth of the free space
magnetic permeability Re (μeff) of the SRR becomes large wavelength or less) to design planar compact microstrip band
(positive), and at frequencies higher than resonance, Re (μeff) stop filter using two techniques; microstrip line 1) loaded with
becomes negative when the axis of the ring is parallel with the SRRs and 2) CSRRs etched in the ground plane, beneath the
Final author version. EuCAP 2010, Barcelona, Spain
microstrip line, with their axes parallel to the vector of the central line) printed on a conventional high frequency
electric field. laminate which is commercially available from Rogers
Corporation [15] with 17 μm thick copper patterns on both
sides and dielectric substrate thickness 25 mm. The substrate
II. SRR BAND STOP FILTER DESIGN has a dielectric constant of 3.38 and a dissipation factor of
0.0036 at 10 GHz. In addition, the microstrip line was
The resonance frequency obtained from this inclusion designed with a 1.46 mm width and a 36 mm length.
(SRR) is typically much smaller than that corresponding to the Formulas given in [3] which described the SRR structure
classical ring or square open loop resonators of similar behaviour were first used to obtain an estimate where the
dimensions. This feature is related to the large distributed resonances of SRR would occur before the dimensions
capacitance between the two rings. The small electrical size optimization. These estimates dealt with the radius of the rings,
of the SRRs suggests the possibility of applying this peculiar the distance between the rings and the periodicity of the
configuration (or some suitable modified version) to the elements. The dimensions of the microstrip line with 50 Ω
design of compact filters. There are many different parameters impedance were calculated using AWR−TXLINE microstrip
that affect the resonance frequency of a SRR, most dominant line calculator [16]. The geometry of the split ring resonators
being the permittivity of the substrate and the length of the (SRR) coupled with microstrip line is shown in Fig. 4 with its
resonator. In the microstrip technology, split-ring resonators relevant dimensions.
can only be etched in the upper substrate side, next to the host
microstrip transmission line. To enhance the coupling, the
distance between the line and the rings should be as small as
possible. A microstrip line loaded with split-ring resonators is
a single negative medium, and therefore exhibits a stop-band
characteristic.
In order to apply the time varying H-field perpendicularly
to the square SRRs surface, a microstrip line which can
generate the quasi-TEM wave was used. Microstrip lines are
Fig. 3 Microstrip line loaded with 5 SRRs on each side.
widely used in microwave planar circuit design and
microwave integrated circuit (MIC) technology. As it is an
open conduit for EM wave transmission, not all of the electric
or magnetic fields will be confined in the structure. This fact,
along with the existence of a small axial E-field, leads not to a
purely TEM wave propagation, but to a quasi-TEM wave of
propagation [14]. A microstrip transmission line generates
magnetic field lines that close upon themselves around the
line. If two arrays of SRRs are placed closely at both sides of
the central line, a significant portion of the magnetic field
lines induced by the line is expected to cross the SRRs with
the desired polarization giving rise to a negative-μ effect over Fig. 4 Dimensions of the square SRR unit cell: a=m=5 mm, c=0.5 mm, and
d=0.2 mm, S=0.5 mm, the gap between square SRR and microstrip line is
a narrow band around the resonant frequency of the individual g=0.2mm and w=1.46 mm.
SRRs. Hence, inhibition of signal propagation over this band
can be achieved as in Fig.2.

Fig. 2 Microstrip line E and H field distribution where h is dielectric

thickness, t is the copper thickness and w is the microstrip line width

Based on this idea, SRR based band stop microstrip filter

has been designed as shown in Fig. 3, where 5 SRRs have
been added on each side. The number of SRRs can be varied. Fig. 5 S11 and S21 of microstrip line loaded with 7 SRRs on each side.
The microstrip line with square SRRs (rather than originally Numerical calculations of the scattering parameters are
proposed circular ones to enhance the SRRs coupling to the performed using the Method of Moments (MoM)-based
Final author version. EuCAP 2010, Barcelona, Spain
electromagnetic solver of Ansoft DesignerTM software. S11 and
S21 values with 7 SRRs are presented in Fig. 5. According to
these results, it is very clear that rectangular shaped SRR
microstrip lines can be used as effective stop band structures.
A peaked notch at 5.41 GHz is visible with a rejection level
close to −50 dB. A sharp band-stop is obtained in the vicinity
of the resonance frequency of the SRRs. The S21 exhibits
small slopes at both sides of the band-stop and near 0-dB
insertion loss outside that band. Fig. 6 shows the frequency
response (S11 and S21) of the proposed filter with various
numbers of SRRs on each side.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 6 (a) S21 and (b) S11 of the proposed microstrip filter with various number
of SRRs.
Its oblivious that the rejection level depends on the number of
SRRs used. To visualize the band stop feature of current
suppression, the magnitude of surface current distribution is
graphically presented. Fig. 7 shows the surface current
distribution inside the band stop frequency region (5.41 GHz)
and outside the band stop frequency region of the proposed
filter (at a transmission frequency - 4.5 GHz). It can be clearly
seen in Fig. 7 (a) that no power is transmitted to Port 2 inside
the band stop region. The deference of current level due to the
band gap characteristics is obvious. So, determination of the
current distribution along proposed structure is a good gauge
for prediction of the filter properties.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 7 Surface current distribution at (a) 5.41 GHz and (b) 4.5 GHz.
III. CSSR BAND STOP FILTER DESIGN
In the microstrip technology, CSRRs are achieved by
periodically etching capacitive gaps in the ground plane
underneath the 50Ω microstrip line. Since CSRRs are excited
by the electric field, they produce negative effective
permittivity Re (εeff) < 0. Thus, a time varying electric field
having a strong component in the axial direction gives rise to
an epsilon effective medium. Considering this fact in mind,
the working mechanism of a CSRR based band stop filter can
be explained as follows: a microstrip transmission line induces
electric field lines that originate from the central strip and
terminate perpendicularly on the ground plane. Due to the
presence of dielectric substrate, field lines are tightly
concentrated just beneath the central conductor and the
electric flux density reaches its strongest value in the vicinity
of this region. Therefore, if an array of CSRRs is etched on
the ground plane aligned with the strip, a strong electric
coupling with the desired polarization is expected.
Fig. 8 CSRRs etched into the ground plane of the microstrip band stop filter.
Based on this aforementioned discussion a CSRR based
band stop filter has been designed, Fig. 8 shows the geometry
of the CSRR loaded microstrip. All dimensions of the CSRRs
have been selected identical to their SRR counterparts so that
the operating frequency of the filter is also around 5.4 GHz.
Again seven CSRRs have been employed. Unfortunately,
because the distance between the line and the CSRRs is
determined by the thickness of the laminate, this configuration
does not allow us to adjust the distance between the CSRRs
and the line easily unless a laminate with different substrate
height is used. The Shape of the CSRRs is not expected to
Final author version. EuCAP 2010, Barcelona, Spain
have a drastic effect on the amount of coupling but we have The deference of current level due to the band gap
preferred to make use of square CSRRs to be consistent with characteristics is obvious.
the topology in the SRR based band stop filter case. Therefore,
the comparative analysis of the two cases is expected to
depend only on whether the microstrip line is loaded with
SRRs or CSRRs and should be independent of all dimensions
and material properties. Scattering parameters (S11 and S21)
plots are presented in Fig. 9. If a minimum rejection level of -
20 dB in the stop-band is assumed for this filter, the stop-band
extends from 4 GHz to 5.8 GHz.

(a)

Fig. 9 S11 and S21 of Microstrip line loaded with 7 CSRRs.

It is important to note that the response of CSRR is not

rigorously the same as the conventional SRR shown in Fig. 1.
This is due to the presence of the dielectric slab which
introduces an additional boundary condition at a distance of
the CSRR plane. However, they will be approximately similar (b)
and the behaviour of the complementary structure excited by
Fig. 10 (a) S21 and (b) S11 of the proposed microstrip filter with various
an axial electric field will be similar to that of the original number of CSRRs.
SRR excited by an axial magnetic field, providing in both
cases a rejected frequency band around the resonance
frequency of the particle.
To demonstrate the performance of the proposed stop band
filter based on CSRRs, the filter with 1, 3, 5 and 7 CSRRs has
been designed and simulated. The plots of S11 and S21 (which
shows the band stop bandwidth and rejection level of the
(a)
microstrip filter) are presented in Fig. 10. In all cases, a deep
rejection band is obtained around the design frequency, with
sharp cut-offs, maximum rejection of 50 dB and low return
losses. Below the rejection frequency band a flat and perfectly
matched pass band is present with very low insertion losses
and nearly linear phase variation. Its important to mention
here this behaviour is due to the presence of negative effective (b)
permittivity and positive permeability near resonant frequency Fig. 11 Surface current distribution at (a) 5 GHz and (b) 2 GHz.
which prevent the wave propagation.
The magnitude of surface current distribution of the CSRR IV. MUTUAL COUPLING INVESTIGATION
loaded microstrip band stop filter is graphically presented in
Fig. 11 which shows the magnitudes at a transmission Finally, in order to understand the time varying H-field
frequency such as 2 GHz and band stop frequency such as 5 coupling effect between the microstrip line and the square
GHz for comparison, it can be clearly seen that no power is SRRs array in Section II, a microstrip line loaded with 1, 3, 5
transmitted from Port 1 to Port 2 inside the band stop region.
Final author version. EuCAP 2010, Barcelona, Spain
and 7 SRRs on each side is designed and the surface current
distribution is presented in Fig. 12. From Fig. 6 and Fig. 12 its
obvious that the rejection level depends on the number of
SRRs used and the magnetic coupling (to achieve high levels
of suppression with few device stages, high magnetic coupling
is required). The surface current intensity (in A/m) represents
a grade of ten colours in a range; light blue is the minimum
and red is the maximum. It can be seen that, generally, the
currents decreases as the number of the SRRs used increased
and deeper rejection level is achieved.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Fig. 12 Simulated surface current distribution of a microstrip line loaded with
(a) one; (b) three; (c) five and (d) seven square SRRs on each side at 5 GHz.
V. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, a compact stop band microstrip filter based on
SRRs and CSRRs has been proposed, successfully designed
and simulated. The resulting device is very compact
(comparing to filters designed from conventional resonators),
produces very high rejection with sharp cut-offs in the
forbidden band, and exhibits a flat and lossless pass band.
This behaviour has been interpreted as corresponding to a
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frequency band with negative valued permittivity and
permeability provided by the SRRs and CSRRs. The size of
the structure could be further reduced by tailoring SRR and
CSRR dimensions, using a properly modified version of the
CSRR or using dielectric substrate with high permittivity. It
was also shown that the microstrip line magnetically coupled
with split ring resonators (SRRs) and has stop band
characteristics which is very promising in filter design.
CSRRs are usually etched in the ground plane of the substrate.
So compared with the SRR, the CSRR does not occupy extra
space and for this reason it is highly suitable for designing of
size miniaturized microwave devices. Furthermore, comparing
to the SRR stop band width, CSRR filter has a wider band
stop extends from 4 GHz to 5.8 GHz.
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